Did Socrates write nothing?
- Why Didn’t Socrates Write?
The Primacy of the Dialectical Method: Socrates believed that the path to knowledge was face-to-face dialogue (dialectics). He viewed writing as a tool that “froze” thought and prevented questioning.
In Plato’s dialogue, the Phaedrus, Socrates states that writing is “defenseless” because the reader cannot question the text.
For him, true learning was internalized through mutual question-and-answer (elenchus).
Not a Teacher, but a “Midwife”: Socrates described himself not as a “sage” (sophos), but as a seeker of wisdom (philosophos). He would talk to people on the streets of Athens, helping them give birth to their minds (maieutic method). Writing would kill this process.
Emphasis on Practical Morality: For Socrates, philosophy was not about abstract theories, but about being virtuous in daily life. This could only be conveyed through lively dialogue.
- So How Did His Ideas Come to the Present Day?
Socrates’s thoughts were preserved through the writings of his students and contemporaries:
A. Plato’s Dialogues (The Most Important Source)
Early Works (e.g., Apology of Socrates, Crito, Euthyphro): These dialogues are considered more faithful to Socrates’ historical character.
Middle/Late Works (e.g., Republic, Phaedo): Plato begins to narrate his philosophy through Socrates’s lens. Therefore, a distinction is made between “Platonic Socrates” and “historical Socrates.”
B. Xenophon’s Works
Memorabilia (Memoirs of Socrates): Contains simpler, more practical advice. Portrays Socrates as a “moral teacher.”
Symposion: Offers an alternative view of Plato’s work of the same name.
C. Other Sources
Aristophanes (Clouds): Satirizes Socrates in the guise of a “sophist” and a “natural philosopher.” While this portrayal is unrealistic, it reflects the popular perception of the time.
Aristotle: Calls Socrates the “father of inductive arguments” (Metaphysics).
- What Do Historians and Philosophers Say?
“The Socrates Problem”: Because all sources on Socrates are secondhand, it is impossible to know with certainty what he actually said.
For example, the speech in Plato’s Apology of Socrates is a literary adaptation of the original.
Common View: The reason Socrates didn’t write was that he viewed philosophy as a “living practice.” For him, truth was to be discovered within the individual, not on paper.
- An Exceptional Argument: Did Socrates Really Never Write?
Some scholars (e.g., Louis-André Dorion), citing a passage in Xenophon’s Memorabilia, claim that Socrates took short notes and distributed them to his students. However, this view lacks evidence and is not generally accepted.